MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) – Mexico’s main agricultural lobby on Saturday criticized the government’s decision to ban genetically modified maize, while organic producers hailed the measure it should protect small farmers.
Mexico “will revoke and refrain from granting permits for the release of genetically modified corn seeds into the environment,” a decree issued Thursday evening said, which also forced the elimination of imports of transgenic corn on 2024.
Proponents of transgenic corn say a ban on home cultivation would limit Mexican farmers’ options, while their gradual importation could jeopardize the food chain.
“Lack of access to production options puts us at a disadvantage compared to our competitors, such as corn farmers in the United States,” said Laura Tamayo, a spokeswoman for Mexico’s National Farm Council.
“On the other hand, the import of genetically modified grains from the United States is essential for many products in the agri-food chain,” added Tamayo, also Bayer’s regional corporate director, whose agrochemical unit manufactures the killer. Roundup weed and transgenic corn designed to survive pesticide application.
Opponents of genetically modified crops celebrated the ban.
“It’s a huge victory,” said Homero Blas, head of the Society of Organic Producers of Mexico.
Opponents of GM crops say they contaminate indigenous maize varieties and encourage the use of hazardous pesticides that endanger public health and harm biodiversity.
Mexico is largely self-sufficient in the white corn that is used to make the country’s basic tortillas, but it depends on imports of transgenic yellow corn that comes primarily from the United States for livestock feed.
It was unclear whether the decree would phase out imported transgenic maize for livestock or whether the rules would only apply to maize grown for human consumption.
The rules establish a phasing out by 2024 of the use of the herbicide glyphosate, used in Roundup, the same year that Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador leaves office.
Bayer agreed to pay up to $ 10.9 billion to resolve nearly 100,000 U.S. lawsuits alleging that Roundup caused cancer.
Report by Laura Gottesdiener; Edited by David Gregorio